HOLLY HILL

When 6-year-old Sadie Anderson looked up and saw a nest of eagles in Centennial Park two years ago, she was mesmerized.

Her fascination with the majestic birds is captured in the documentary film “Eagle Flight,” which was shown Monday night at City Hall to an audience of 100.

The film, a two-year project by Holly Hill filmmaker Steve Brown, tells the story of the eagles that have made their home in the park for the past several years.

In 2013 two bald eagles settled into a nest in Centennial Park and gave birth to three babies. Because eagle parents usually average two chicks, the trio drew attention from bird lovers and environmental enthusiasts who flocked to the park to admire them.

The documentary, sponsored by Halifax River Audubon and the Holly Hill Historic Preservation Society, shows how humans and eagles can co-exist and should create a greater appreciation for the birds, said Halifax River Audubon Chairman David Hartgrove. “Centennial Park is an example of eagles living in harmony with people,” Hartgrove said. “Because the story is told from the perspective of a little girl, I think it’s going to help engage younger people. Hopefully this will spark people’s awareness in looking at the things that are around them.” Sadie Anderson was busy signing autographs Monday night during the film’s showing. For the past three years, Brown has documented Sadie’s visits to the park to admire and learn about the eagles. She is the youngest member of Halifax River Audubon.

Sadie’s mother, Kristi Rhoades, said her daughter’s interest in the eagles has also spread to her peers and teachers. “As her mom it’s enlightening to see her slow down and look at them,” she said. “They really have caught her attention.” According to state records, more than 100 eagles’ nests are in Volusia and Flagler counties. Bald eagles were removed from the U.S. endangered species list in 2007 but are still protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.

While the Holly Hill eagles have co-existed with humans for more than a decade, they have had their share of challenges. In 2005 the city relocated the eagles’ original nest from Hollyland Park to Centennial Park due to concerns over the nest’s proximity to football fields.

It was a busy Monday morning for a pair of nesting eagles and their chick in a pine tree in Centennial Park off 10th Street in Holly Hill. The eagles are the subject of the documentary “Eagle Flight” by the Halifax River Audobon Society. News-Journal photos/JIM TILLER

In 2010 the eagles’ nest was damaged in a 25 mph storm and in 2013 one of the chicks died after drowning in a nearby wastewater treatment plant well on the way back to the nest.
Brown said the death felt like “losing his own child.” Sadie’s grief over the loss is also captured in the documentary when she receives the news after celebrating her fifth birthday at the park.
“I think it helped her understand grief,” Rhoades said. “She learned that the eagles had to go on as a family.”
When Brown discovered the birds in 2013, it re-ignited his passion for filmmaking. He had considered himself retired after co-producing a documentary on a dolphin with a prosthetic tail that prompted the 2011 film “Dolphin Tale.”
Brown often spent 16 hours filming each day, capturing the eagles feeding their young and teaching them how to fly.

Hartgrove said that the documentary will likely be used for educational purpose and to raise money for the Audubon’s mission to promote and enhance local environmental conservation efforts. The film will also be on sale at the Holly Hill Museum and Education Center at 1066 Ridgewood Ave.
In the meantime, bird lovers can still get a glimpse of the eagle pair and the one chick currently living in the nest at Centennial Park.